A Fiery Masquerade
by Zephyr.Camida
Summary: "One of his hands settled on her shoulder and pressed hard, as if trying to push her through the very earth beneath her. Sheldon's other hand shot up to grip her chin and pulled it straight up so that she saw the stars above. The next thing Amy knew, his lips were on hers in a firm, almost possessive kiss." A Shamy one-shot with a twist


A Fiery Masquerade

**Author's Note: A pre-warning of sorts, this is rather different from anything I've written thus far and will probably be the only story I use this kind of format. I wanted to try something different; you shall be the judge on how it ultimately worked out~ Bear with my craziness and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own The Big Bang Theory, or any of its amazing characters.**

* * *

_There was a pregnant silence. 'Are you sure?' A nod and answer. 'Set the stage.'_

The night was clear, stars shining with faded glimmers as a moon full with splendid light permeated the darkened sky. Barely illuminated fog lingered just above the road leading into an old city, almost like a beckoning path. One could look upon such a scene and revel in its beauty, but not a soul was around to appreciate it, nor spot the single body dart silently across a clearing between tall buildings from within the city walls.

Amy took a peek around a corner, green eyes scanning her surroundings for anyone nearby. Hyper-sensitive hearing cleared the suspicion prodding her, so she stepped out to gaze at the rows of buildings; their tall, arching rooftops nearly disguised the sparks of ember and rising smoke from the horizon behind them.

The town was burning, and by the smell, Amy could tell it was spreading quickly with the wind that carried it. Frowning, she absent-mindedly grabbed at the fabric over her stomach, the pang that came from within heavy as she swallowed. She took a glance behind her to the city's main hall from which she had just separated from her companions, a feeling of uneasiness all-consuming, and slowly trudged into the heart of the crackling city.

_Nervousness- _

She let out a shaky breath, "Calm down. Calm down." A quiet chant to herself as she choked down the sick feeling of thirst that clawed at her relentlessly like a fevered beast trying to escape its chains.

Amy hadn't wanted to leave her friends, but the situation at hand was unavoidable. The attack on the city had stemmed from the discovery of an outbreak of attacks by a violent group of vampires that resulted in the deaths of over thirty villagers. Normally a neutral city that was safe for citizens of all races had quickly disintegrated into a war zone; humans hunted vampires and vampires killed humans in their desperation to flee the city. As she, herself, and her friend Bernadette were a half blood and full blood respectively, the group had decided that a swift retreat was necessary.

But, as luck would have it, Amy would not get off so easily. Being half vampire, she was not subject to all the same vulnerabilities as Bernadette, but also suffered completely different side effects and still required to feed, much to her distress. Blood was not something she enjoyed, though with her above average knowledge on the mechanics of the mind and body, Amy had extensively trained herself to go long periods without a need to feed, which helped her retain a sense of humanity.

She did _not_ feed on humans.

The original reason the group had even ventured into this city was to let Amy recover and gather some reserve packs for when she absolutely needed to rejuvenate her poisoned veins. The town was a well-known neutral zone, where there were actually facilities that operated much like blood banks, and humans could donate their blood for vampires and be compensated with money or other goods. It kept the people safe and at peace for years, until this very night.

The group's married pair, Howard and Bernadette, had offered her their help when it became clear that the riots going on around them would detour Amy from getting the nourishment she sought out for, but she instantly refused and instead decided to go look by herself. The human-vampire bond was a delicate one, and Amy did not want to risk altering it after they had painstakingly developed theirs. She also did not want to jeopardize the safety of her friends, she couldn't.

_A stealthy glance, she shyly watched him as she continued-_

She didn't know how she'd react to drinking blood from a flesh being at this stage either. So, for the sake of her friends, she left them behind. Amy knew she needed to move quickly; the longest she had tested her capacity to function normally without nourishment, she had lasted approximately sixty days.

This night, with the breathtaking sky and crackling city marked day sixty-seven, Amy's limit far passed.

_She waited a moment- _

Unfortunately, luck continued to elude her as Amy approached the first clinic. Even several feet away, she could pick up the fowl stench of blood. The copper tinge stung her senses, both disgusting and exhilarating, and her heart palpitated violently. Amy weighed her options, judging by the broken windows and collapsed entryway, she was not entirely sure she wanted to find out what the source of the scent was.

Amy sighed, deciding against it, and took off into a jog towards the next known location. 'Only two places remaining. Please let one be intact!'

Minutes later, Amy stumbled upon the next intended building after turning a corner, and nearly tripped over a body at her feet. A hand instantly flew over her mouth as her eyes gazed down at the male at her feet, a mangled corpse, then up to the burning building that was her second destination. She did not miss the wooden stake embedded deeply in the chest of the man below her, nor the matching child at his side who shared the same fate. She shuddered; there were vibrant red claw marks in the earth that trailed from the bodies themselves over to the entrance of the building she sought out. They had been dragged from sanctuary before being silenced mercilessly and the establishment soon after set ablaze.

Clenching her eyes shut to block out the tears threatening to escape, Amy stepped over the pair and retreated into an alley. Judging by the freshness of the kill, of which she could tell by the different scent that permeated her senses, the perpetrators were close by. Amy touched her tongue lightly to one of her canines and noted its amplified sharpness and the dull throb. 'I wouldn't be able to hide it anymore.' She thought darkly.

She could not get caught and escape death. Precision and stealthiness were key now.

The smoke was thicker, more suffocating than ever and evidence of human activity: murder, destruction, _the blood_ was starting to overwhelm Amy as she hazily stepped towards a family restaurant. At this point, her hands shook with either fear or hunger, she couldn't tell anymore.

Amy just wanted to leave, to go back to her friends. To him.

_He swallowed deeply, eyeing her-_

'Please, please let no one be inside!' She pleaded as she approached the side of the building and swiped a hand quickly across a windowpane, clearing the little chips that remained of the broken glass that still clung to the woodwork, since the entrance was barricaded with several beams of wood. With a quiet huff, she hauled herself over the edge and lightly landed inside, just next to a tipped over table. On instinct, Amy immediately ducked behind it and peered around it and into the darkness. She noted with a frown that her sight adjusted instantly to the darkness, yet another sign of the humanity that was escaping out the cracks of her being. She was always gifted with heightened senses, but the reminder disturbed her none the less. With a predator's sight, and a lack of blood, a hunter's mind was bound to surface.

_A brief interruption. 'Cognitive thought lowering'-_

The urge to simply jump out into the dark and take out any potential occupants and raid for anything to sustain her tickled the back of her mind, but she stubbornly shook it away. 'No. No. No.' After fighting with herself for what felt like forever, Amy stepped out and wandered to the back of the restaurant, keeping an eye out for the sake of her nerves. Her head jerked to the side as she felt something from behind, her ears ringing.

As a clatter thundered, Amy whirled around with her elbow in the lead in time to collide with a bulky figure's face. A loud crack, followed by a strangled yell sounded out, and she jumped back in a panic as the man stumbled back into a table. She watched him, eyes wild and brain screaming for her to run, but the new scent of his bloody nose rooted her to her spot. 'Stay down!' Whether that plea had been directed towards him or to her own instincts, she didn't know.

With a low growl, the man climbed to his feet and swayed forward a step as he looked in her direction. Amy vaguely wondered if he could see her, but she was quickly given her answer when he charged her with a roar. The wind violently knocked from her lungs as he slammed her into a support beam, a hand groped for her neck and in seconds, she became trapped in his grasp.

"You little vampire bitch!" He hissed with venom, his grip squeezed a choked gasp from Amy as her own hands clamped down on his wrists. She leveled him with a glare as she managed to take a tiny breath through her nose. A moment passed and green irises popped open wide when a sudden, overwhelmingly sharp pain erupted from her side: a knife.

In the next instant, Amy's body jerked violently forward, mouth open wide in a silence scream.

_She breathed deeply-_

"Ah-" Her tight grip loosened just enough for her to dig her nails deep into the man's arms and drag them down through his flesh. He dropped her then, screaming as he clutched his bleeding arms. Amy reeled back and let out a primal snarl, then lunged forward for the assailant and knocked him off his feet with a hard back-fist. He fell like a lead block, and a sickening crack vibrated in Amy's ears as his head collided with a table edge. Amy panted for several seconds, nostrils flared as she inhaled deep breaths of air that were laced with the scent of his blood.

Her head twitched once, twice, then a third time as a shiver coursed through her body. In a desperate rush, Amy turned around and into the back kitchen to search for something, _anything _to consume to satiate her uncontrollable thirst. The primal urge was too close to completely devouring her for comfort, and panic had fully settled deep in her gut.

Tomato juice was the only suitable thing she could find among the pillaged mess; she drank it down in several deep gulps, and tried to forcefully will her mind to believe it was blood as if it could be treated as a vulgar placebo effect. The only thing the red liquid succeeded to match was the nasty rot it left in her stomach. Bleeding, nauseous, and shaking so violently, it looked as if she were going through convulsions, Amy forced herself to the back door of the building.

As she reached the door, she caught the faint hushes of smoke from outside, and grabbed a nearby rag for when she needed to venture through flames. Hesitantly creaking a door open, Amy peaked out, hand clamped tightly over her face with the cloth for a moment, but lowered it as she found the bright heat farther away than she thought. She could still see licks of fire dance on buildings that were mere blocks away, closer than ever, though. She ducked down into a crouch; the fire was going to soon spread to her whereabouts. She had to move fast.

'If I only had that luxury,' she thought with a grimace, the searing pain in her throat and abdomen pulsed violently. Amy observed no people nearby, so with a forced vigor, she pulled herself forward into the dank alley and collapsed in a heap behind a stack of crates.

"Damn," she whispered harshly as she peered down at her gut. Visible through her torn green tunic, a moderate gash bled profusely. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the cloth, then folded it over and pressed it tightly to her would. Adrenaline from the attack long gone, she shook her head in a vigorous attempt to rid herself of the nausea and dizziness plaguing her. The situation as a whole had spiraled way out of control, and it made Amy want to cry.

"Nnngh," she groaned quietly to herself, teeth clenched tight. All of Amy's senses were increasingly sensitive, a sign of her vampire virus slowly overriding her. The scents around her were becoming a glaringly blunt stench - blood and corpses and smoke and burning wood - each invading her nasal cavity. Her teeth felt like they were pulsing, more so in her two primary canines, her fangs. She tightened her jaw even harder, forcing the frenzy down.

_-going to follow in now-_

A brief urge to just lay there and let the approaching flames burn her to death wandered about, a whirlwind of emotions flew through Amy and as she laid an arm over her face, she wished for it all to stop. Her side tingled, sensation of the wound ever so slowly going numb, she took a deep intake of air and jolted up with eyes wide in panic.

_He moved closer, she squirmed-_

She had caught the scent of a human being, a living one.

'No! No, no, no!' As dread flooded in, she pulled herself up into a sitting position and curled as far into the corner as she could. The sound of a rapid beat invaded her ears, she assumed that they had been running for a long while, and it was sending her into a renewed tizzy.

Her thoughts were clashing between two struggling forces. 'Fresh blood! Lure them here! No! Stop coming closer! Sink your fangs into them, feed on them! Please, go away. Don't come here!'

The steps slowed and after one, two, three quiet steps, the person stopped and-

_His lips parted and-_

"...Amy?" The voice slammed into her, deafening the crackling fire and splitting wood. She stilled, no longer sure whether the hammering pulse she was hearing was her own or the owner of the very familiar voice that had called her.

"Amy," the deep tone came again. "You are there." A statement, not a question. Amy drew in a shaky breath to calm herself and after an internal battle, peeked around the corner to catch a glimpse. In the midst of the horizontal divide of a dark sky and the sea of flames in the background stood a tall man at the entrance of the alleyway. As he took one step into the dark of the alley, ice blue eyes practically glowed in the shadows; she knew those eyes.

Sheldon.

_-she slowly curled back from his intense stare-_

She whipped back around into hiding, clamped her eyes shut and prayed to anyone – anything – that would hear her cursed pleas that he wouldn't find her. His continued steps told her otherwise; he was now approaching her at a quickened pace. She could hear the gravel scratch and shift as he knelt beside her.

"Amy! Are you-...you're bleeding." Sheldon looked at her blood stained arms that covered her wounded abdomen, then turned his gaze to her turned away face. The intense stare sent shivers through her nerve-wrecked body. "You didn't find any."

She knew what he meant. Blood. If she had found blood and consumed it, her healing capabilities would be at full capacity and her cut would be nothing more than a blood stain on her clothing.

Amy continued to stay silent, she refused to look into that penetrating gaze, and tried her hardest not to breathe. Inhaling his scent, which wafted an undeniable intoxication to her growing fever, was already sending her screaming senses into a tizzy. Her nose tickled, her eyes dilated and shifty, and her fingers pawed at herself as she fought to not touch him. The little remaining fragments of her humanity being consumed and buried as quickly as the city engulfed in flames and ash.

_-refusing to lose focus-_

"_Leave,_" Amy choked out harshly, sending as fierce a glare as she could manage. He ignored her and lifted his head, looking out to the alley's entrance, focused on an unknown point out in the fray. She was about to repeat her demand, but he held a finger up.

"Don't move," he commanded as he stood and took swift steps away from her. Moments later, he disappeared around the corner, and Amy let out the breath she was holding. She pulled her mouth into a deep frown.

"As if I have an energy to do so..." she whispered with a hint of anger, though mostly frustration was boiling within her. "Everything just...hurts." She tilted her head back against the crates supporting her. Despite the throbbing pain shooting up and down her body, she was grateful it was still there.

Once she felt nothing, it would be over.

If the 'disease' took over, her other half, there would be no going back. She'd be overtaken, possessed, forever fueled by her feral instincts- only searching to quench that harsh thirst for blood and desire to devour. With Sheldon most likely nearby, Amy was determined to do whatever it took to avoid that at any cost.

Any.

Suddenly, to Amy's bodily glee and mental torture, Sheldon was by her side again, kneeling on one leg. She noted with agony that his overcoat had been removed, along with his undershirt, leaving him in a v-neck loose shirt.

'Please, have mercy on me,' she limply and silently begged to the dark sky.

_Grabbing for her suddenly-_

"Alright, move with me," he commanded firmly and reached forward, grasping her arms. Unable to summon the strength to resist, Amy simply clamped her lids shut to block out the very real image of Sheldon's pale, bare neck that wafted a subtle musk of talc, sweat, and bar soap. She wondered vaguely if this man had any sense of survival what so ever, with how _close _he was getting to her.

_He was close, he was close, he was close!-_

Through the increasing muddle, the hard patter of his pulse and the nauseating, yet tantalizing scent of the blood flowing through the veins beneath his beauty mark peppered neck was becoming extremely prevalent. Next thing Amy knew, she was lowered to the ground, protected from the dirt and bits of debris by his thick overcoat that had been previously laid there. Her eyes fluttered, hearing slow dragging noises from where Sheldon sat; he was now meticulously cutting his other three-quarter sleeve long shirt from shoulder seam to the end of the arm with a small switch knife. As he did his handy work, he'd deposit the strips of fabric upon his thigh.

"What are you doing?" she rasped just as he was finishing. He gave her a haughty look, matched with a small frown.

"Were you planning to bleed to death out here?" his question sounded a touch bitter, she noticed. Amy couldn't help but wince as Sheldon hiked her shirt up to just under her bra, being careful to avoid touching her wound.

She looked blankly to the sky and voiced her reply as he began gently prodding around the edge of the gash. "I am weighing my options."

_-tenderly brushing her side with his fingertips-_

"The answer is '_No.'" _he barked deeply, and without another word, he went to work on wrapping her abdomen with the torn scraps of shirt. She bit down a groan at the feeling of his fingers when they brushed across her tender skin. She had to get him away, she had to.

"It's highly unlikely anyway," she murmured. "I'll become a monster before dying, Sheldon. You _know_ that."

He initially froze in place for a moment, his mind most likely processing her words, but ultimately ignored her underlying message, eyes wholly focused on treating her. Amy couldn't help but frown in frustration and decided to push harder. There wasn't much time left.

_-a hand over his, halting him-_

"I'll attack you, once this..._thing..._takes over. My strength will outmatch you, I'll pin you, mark you, devour you until every last drop of your blood has been consumed to satiate my unending thirst. There will be no mercy, no control once I succumb-"

"I know full well how the bodily mechanics of many inhuman beings work, Amy. I've a plethora of knowledge on everything-" his eyes leveled her with an intense stare. "-and that includes anything and _everything_ about your condition. Your...vampire 'curse' in all its stages."

_-he has always understood her desires, always- _

"Then you should know just how much you being here is _affecting_ me, Sheldon!" she bit back at his declaration of knowledge about her. He didn't really understand; she had to make him understand. "I won't starve or bleed to death, I won't let me. It'll- it'll take over and the other me will do anything to preserve itself. You'd be better of killing me!"

-_'Do you know what you are saying?'-_

Amy laced as much of her frustration, anger, and pain into her words as she could. It was all she could muster as she laid limply on the ground practically paralyzed; she could only manage to speak between deep breaths and her body only granted her involuntary twitches and spasms when Sheldon would touch her whilst he examined for any other injuries. Tears were prickling at her eyes as the sensation of his touch slowly became whispers upon her flesh.

It was almost time, and Amy was afraid.

_Please, it's so intense, those eyes-_

"_Please,"_ she begged, letting her head fall to the side, deflated. "Leave me...here. I can't...it...not you."

As her last words bubbled out in the sound of a strangled sob, Sheldon's movement stilled and he leaned back but remained half hovering over her, watching her quietly, thinking. Several moments passed and Amy almost looked back to him until she heard a scrapping noise, like steel against gravel, as he picked up the knife that laid by his feet.

Many images of her laying abandoned in the alley, her body slowing being consumed by the spreading fire and a knife hilt deep in her chest danced behind her lids. It oddly gave her a sense of comfort, she realized, and released a small nasally breath as she waited for Sheldon to move.

_-he remained near her, mouth open-_

"I- I'll..." Sheldon cleared his throat, and gripped the knife like his life depended on it. "I'm willing to- to give you blood."

Amy's eyes shot open and she instantly retorted, "Not a chance. You and I both know that I hate and deny my vampire half endlessly, and you share the same loathing for vampires as well. You won't give _any_ vampire blood." She stressed the 'any' part harshly. Sheldon never liked vampires, she and Bernadette learned this the moment they had met the group and were never spared the reminder. Amy had always assumed she and Sheldon simply shared a vague tolerance for each other as they traveled together.

_He watched her from the corner with a frown-_

"I'm not giving a vampire my blood, I'm giving you my blood."  
"There is no difference."  
"There is a difference. It's _you_." Sheldon paused, then whispered. "It's _always_ been different with you"

-_always the exception-_

Amy's heart pounded in her chest, "I am _not_ biting you." Her mind was spinning from his words, her eyes fluttered but all she could see were blurred images. There was no further response from the man at her feet, and a feeble feeling of victory came and passed in mere moments.

She let her lids close again, "Sheldon, you can't- you can't save me. Kill me and go...please." Again, she was answered with the silence that fell between them.

_-he closed in, hands reaching out-_

Suddenly a quiet hiss and a sharp clang sounded out in the alley, the knife dropped to the ground and seconds later, Sheldon had moved. Before Amy could ever register anything in her fuzzy stupor, he was atop her, his full weight settled on her thighs. Her face turned, eyes opening to meet with his blazing blue eyes, flickering with intensity as his face hovered dangerously near her.

-_hands trailed across her shoulders-_

One of his hands settled on her shoulder and pressed hard, as if trying to push her through the very earth beneath her. She managed to pull her sights down to where their bodies connected, a mild panic growing, but Sheldon's other hand shot up to grip her chin and pulled it straight up so that she saw the stars above.

_-she stared as he lay over her, eyes wide-_

The next thing Amy knew, his lips were on hers in a firm, almost possessive kiss. Stunned, she couldn't help but stare at his face so near her, and shuddered as his closed lashes lifted and his darkened gaze penetrated her. The look in his eyes almost frightened her, 'What is he...-ah!'

The hand that clamped on her chin loosened and traveled gently across her cheek in a soft caress. At the same time, in an opposite, almost aggressive manner, his mouth pressed harder against her, lips shifting and urging hers open to deepen their contact.

Amy's body shot up, arching high as a distantly familiar taste slowly pooled into her mouth, warm and metallic against their stroking tongues.

Blood–which he forced her to swallow.

_-gasping, gasping, gasping underneath him-_

She inhaled a sharp breath through her nose, her eyes wide and dilate as multitudes of sensations flooded her with an overwhelming force much like water crashing through an opened dam. Amy's fingers twitched at her sides as strength returned to her, the feeling of her hammering heart echoed in her ears like a drifting melody in the recesses of her mind. Her hands rose slowly at first, then journeyed along Sheldon's arms, the pads of her fingertips traced along the bumps of various paths that were beneath the skin. She could picture the thin lines of blood as they pulsed throughout his body; the very blood that was feeding renewed– frenzy calming –life into her.

-_she clung for dear life-_

She could practically see stars behind her lids that matched the sky when she closed them, a sigh escaped her lips as Sheldon pulled away from her with agonizing slowness for a moment, more than likely to breathe. Amy did not allow him a long cessation; she closed the space between them an instant later, boldly reclaiming his lips with fervor.

Sheldon let out a choked moan from his throat at the sudden attack, but did not resist as her tongue heatedly sought out his in the expanse of his warm mouth. She traced a trail along the span of his tongue and noted with interest as he shook at the contact, along with the sharp contrasting taste of copper that traveled up the middle in a line.

The realization fully hit her then, 'He sliced himself and...' The rest of the blanks filled themselves. Amy tilted her head back, Sheldon followed her relentlessly as she rested again on his coat with a jolt. Another wafting scent of talc and cleanliness tickled her senses, along with the faintest smell of smoke.

_-he jolted uncontrollably-_

In a bout of dominance, Sheldon's back arched out as he placed balance into his legs and grabbed for her hands that were still clutching at the sleeves of his t-shirt. He pulled them away and back down to the ground, pressing them out on either side of her face, his nimble fingers splayed into her palms.

The ever-present sound of crackling fire and splitting wood in Amy's mind was soon drowned out by Sheldon's breathy sigh as they began to part, and by her needy mewl as he lightly tugged her bottom lip with his teeth.

_'Sheldon.'-_

"Sheldon-"

"Shh," he silenced her as the tip of his nose whispered down her cheek, and along her jaw. Amy couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips as he started to pepper hot kisses from the upper curve of her jaw and down the smooth, slightly tanned length of her neck. She instinctively lulled her head to the side, allowing him more access to her tingling skin, which he continued to lavish tenderly.

-_touching, kissing, pressing into her body- _

Amy's elbows pulled up, a half-hearted struggle against his restraint. 'I want to touch you. I want to touch you!' Her thoughts pleaded feverishly, the feeling of electric-like jolts and intense arousal pooled below her belly as she felt the moistness of his tongue occasionally caress her skin between kisses. She felt as if she were still being driven into a frenzy, though the numbing thirst for blood was replaced in rapid waves by an overpowering desire for the man above her.

_If he's just let her, if he'd just let her-_

"Ah!" Amy let out a strangled cry as she felt a sharp pain pulse from her taut skin, though the rush of pain was gone as soon as it arrived when Sheldon caressed the spot with the soft touches of his lips.

'He...he bit me?' her question was soon confirmed as he once again nipped her neck, more gentle than the last. Amy shivered as he repeated the motions as if he was locked in an endless physical mantra. Sheldon would bite her skin, occasionally a canine would scrape against the tender flesh, then he would mend her with a slow drag of his tongue, followed by a feather soft kiss. Again and again, until she completely lost count.

_-couldn't properly process her thoughts as he worked against her- _

Amy was certain she was losing her mind all over again and pulled her arms up one last time in an attempt to free herself. She couldn't handle his ministrations anymore, the sensations were drowning her, burying her under heated pleasure. Her hands freed easier than she anticipated, but that instant, she yanked her hands away and clasped against his jaw, fingers spread across his cheeks. Pulling Sheldon away from her tender neck, Amy planted a hard, near bruising kiss on him, catching him by complete surprise. She arched her head sideways, repeatedly assaulting him with bold kisses, occasionally drawing his lip into her mouth and teething it, a mirror to his previous actions against her sensitive neck. Amy vaguely noted his abandoned hands lay upon her hipbones, grasping them desperately.

_-pushing under the fabric-_

Humming against his mouth, she darted her tongue out, playfully licking his protruding – delectable – lower lip before biting it with a quick, sharp force. Sheldon's hands, which had in those few moments traveled up under her shirt- careful to avoid her wrapped wound -were now padding along her ribs, frozen in place. His blue eyes, wide with alarm, met Amy's with overt uncertainty.

_-watched her with brief panic, eyes searching hers urgently-_

Giving him a coquettish stare and an equally devilish smile, she pressed a quick peck against the corner of his mouth, "Payback." Her clarification put his unease to rest, but still Sheldon slowly moved from her thighs and over by her side to give her room to move. Amy sat up with little effort and wiggled her legs for a couple of moments, staring down towards her ankles with amusement as she worked some feeling back into them.

"You're strength...surprised me a bit," she admitted with a slow blink of her eyes, her sight back on the man to her left when she opened them a second later. Amy's claim was met with a small smile, which she could tell had a hint of shyness that matched with the fluttery look in his eyes as Sheldon trailed the backs of his fingers along her arm. The tickling touch made her still sensitive skin lightly pucker in goose-flesh as his hand ended on her wrist and flipped his hand over to grasp it.

_-took a deep breath, calming himself as his own charged senses relaxed-_

A nearby collapse of a building's wooden roof caused the both of them to jump and whirl around towards the long forgotten, smoldering city. The fire wasn't far now and they needed to leave, Sheldon noted and turned back to his companion, whom he was certain had come to the same conclusion judging from the scrutinizing stare she was displaying. Amy let out a breath through her nose as her eyes flitted about to here and there, taking in her surroundings for the first time in a long while.

-_finish this...finish this-_

"Will you be okay to move?" he inquired softly, gesturing to her stomach. Amy turned back and peered down at the mentioned area silently, and nodded as she shifted into a kneeling position. Sheldon stood and offered a hand.

_-He then gently cradled her hands within his own, eying them-_

"I'll be fine, it's starting to heal itself. Give it an hour and I'm sure it'll be gone," Amy gave him a small smile, accepting his aid, and placed another stabilizing hand on her knee as she lifted herself to her feet with a grunt.

"Alright, then let us-"

_A resounding rap startled the pair, both of them flinching into stunned silence- - -_

* * *

"Sheldon?" A male voice called out from behind the closed barrier of Sheldon's bedroom door, causing both occupants to snap their heads towards the vocal intruder.

Sheldon was the first to turn back to his girlfriend, who had remained inches away from him. With an apologetic smile, he lightly bumped his forehead against hers, then gave her a light, brief kiss before he pulled himself from the bed with an annoyed huff.

He took one last glimpse over his shoulder towards Amy as he padded away, who tilted her head towards the waiting roommate on the other side of the door. Turning back, Sheldon pulled the door open with a flat look; Leonard was leaning against the wooden frame, eyes directed to the floor and hands fidgeting with themselves.

His curly topped head popped up and peered at his tall friend through his lenses, "Oh, hey Sheldon. Uh, listen, I've gotta be at the University early for a meeting, so Penny said she'd...am I interrupting something?"

Leonard peeked over Sheldon's shoulder at Amy, who had just approached the two men and was discreetly raking her fingers through her hair. She greeted him with a very brief smile, which he returned with a nod.

"Hello, Leonard."

"Hi, Amy," Leonard was silent for a few moments, watching the pair as if deep in thought.

Sheldon couldn't help the small sway of his body as he squirmed awkwardly, "Yes, anyway, Penny is going to provide me with transportation to work, I presume?" The question prompted Leonard to snap from his temporary train of thought, his brown eyes rose back up.

"Um, yea. Penny'll take you."

A pause. "...fine. Now if you'll excuse us." Without leaving room for further response, Sheldon had abruptly shut his door in Leonard's face. Exactly three seconds later, Amy looked up at him.

"Wasn't that a little...rude?" It wasn't even a scold, just a plain inquiry.

"What's rude is him interrupting us; we were about to leave the city and finish the game." Sheldon clicked his teeth together, irritated, and strode past Amy to sit on the end of his bed. He looked up at her expectantly with a small pout. A small hum that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle to Sheldon escaped her lips as she meandered over to him.

"It's probably better that we didn't, " Amy murmured sweetly, stopping just between his open knees, "I...was getting a bit crazy from..._that_." Sheldon didn't try to hide the slight smirk that tugged at him as he looked up at Amy as she pulled a lock of hair behind her ear. They eyed each other silently for a moment; Sheldon placed his palms tenderly on her hips and watched as Amy started to sway side to side ever so slightly, as if following a rhythm only they could hear.

She breathed a soft sigh, "I should probably go. Early morning and all that." Before she could step away, Sheldon held her in place with a tightening grip. He leisurely stroked his thumbs over the barely protruding hip bones they rested upon.

"Tomorrow is pizza night," his blue stare lifted up to her as the words left his mouth.

Amy smiled softly at her boyfriend's warm display, "I'll be here." She leaned down towards him for a quick kiss, which he shyly met her for. She then stepped away from him, and noted the light tingle that remained where his hands once lingered as she gathered her cardigan sweater and purse.

After swiftly putting on the sweater and pulling her purse around her so it sat in its typical diagonal across-the-chest manner, Amy gave a curt nod and smile to her boyfriend and strolled out of the bedroom and through the short hallway that lead to the living room.

She found Leonard and Penny sitting nestled on the couch, the pair turned their stares from the sporting event on the television to Amy, and she didn't miss the smug stares they were directing at her.

"Hey Ames!" Penny chirped, flicking a piece of popcorn into her mouth with blind precision, her hazel eyes not leaving her brunette best friend. Leonard remained silent, but his eyebrows lifted high above his frames. Ignoring it, Amy nodded to Penny, "Hey Bestie."

Suddenly, Penny tilted her head sideways, lips pursed curiously and eyebrows now matching the same gesture as her boyfriend. Out of reflex, Amy mirrored the movement, filled with utter confusion. Seconds later, confusion turned to blatant nervousness as she watched Penny's lips split into a wide grin, tongue peeking between her white teeth as she elbowed Leonard, who was now trying to focus on looking at anything other than Amy.

"...U-um?" she could only manage a small stutter as Penny's grin widened further – which reminded Amy of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland – and watched the blonde pull her hands up sideways into loose fists, making wiggling motions with her thumbs. 'Text?'

Penny then raised a hand to cup the side of her mouth and silently worded, "Lit-tle vix-en~" The grin returned shortly after with the same amount of mischievousness from earlier.

A deep-rooted pang of dread plagued Amy, feeling that now was a good time to make her rapid exit, and coughed loudly, "Well, I have some work to finish up. See you later Bestie, Leonard." Without bothering to hide her urge to leave, she scrambled out the door and with quick steps, trailed down the stairs and out the glass lobby doors to her car. The whole way, Amy had a sinking feeling that she was missing something big.

As she opened her driver's side door, Amy flung her bag into the passenger seat and climbed in with a deep sigh. It was when she was in the middle of double checking her mirrors – a habit she naturally developed from all the times she had driven Sheldon to work over the years – that she stopped dead.

'What...?' Amy ungracefully yanked her visor down and aimed the mirror downwards. There, she saw colors in an array of magenta and violet peaking from her button up undershirt: the beginnings of a trail of bruises. She stretched her head sideways to get a better look, pulling the edge of her blouse away. The darkened colors started just below where her ear met her jaw and traveled with varying vibrancy down her neck and ending near her clavicle. The barely noticeable bite mark that branded her in the middle of it all caused a shiver to course through Amy.

"Oh my," she voiced out loud to no one, fingers traced gingerly over Sheldon's handiwork, almost like she were in a trance. Amy let her head fall back against the back of her seat, eyes fluttering closed as she briefly let her mind wander back to the vivid adventure they had meandered through together in their role-played dalliance, playing them back in her mind with intense detail.

She recalled how the midnight sky briefly sparkled with stars and the low drifting fog that lingered above cool, dew-kissed grass that trailed to a tall medieval city. The shouts of people as the chaotic riots broke out and sent shivers of desperation and fear from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Her skirmish with the man she had inevitably killed while searching alone for respite from her vampire thirst and frenzy.

How he had found her against all odds, and had at the same time began to make a bold advance on her outside their fantasy. His lips that had practically burned her with passions she didn't often get to physically experience outside their make-believe worlds. The needy touches that possessively held her, feverish kisses that had been fueled with intense heat, sharp gasps that ripped through his throat - and hers – as they broke for breaths and as they touched each other. Amy breathed deeply as she slipped the visor shut and put her keys into the ignition, roaring her car to life.

It had all been real this time, fantasy and reality breathing together, one and the same.

Maybe in the future, Amy hoped sooner than later, she would again be able to bask within that fiery masquerade that allowed them to throw all hesitation of intimacy to the wayside and indulge in their deep down inner desires.

Being pulled into a dance within his emotional flames was something Amy would always welcome, and she inwardly – endlessly – wished that he would one day permanently burn that blazing passion deep into her very pores.

* * *

**End Notes: This story. Seriously, this idea has been plaguing me for the -longest- time. I hope that is didn't turn anyone away with how...odd this story turned out. Back in the day, I played a little D+D myself, though I played the side version called Vampire: The Masquerade that dealt more with vampires and sub-species, which is what Sheldon and Amy are playing here. Fun game. Hah. Anyway, hopefully you lovely readers made it to the end! If you did, tell me what you thought! Feedback is always appreciated and of course, thank you for reading! **


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